2-738-202 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of a Man Holding a Watch, c. 1665-70. Held in the hand or displayed in a private domestic space, miniature portraits were designed for intimate viewing. The sitter holds a watch, often a symbol of mortality and the passage of time. Like his colleague Gerrit Dou, Slingelandt was one of the Leiden fijnschilders (fine painters), a group of artists whose paintings were internationally recognized for their extraordinary detail and precise technique.